How much does it cost to develop a hospital management system?

Back in 2017, in peak COVID-19, the healthcare industry came face to face with a grim picture. One where thousands of patients and their families were waiting in hospital queues for days, patients were getting treated in the corridors, and a large number of them even passed away waiting for treatment. 

It was during that time when the global healthcare system witnessed a collapse. During this upheaval, hospitals doubled down on their investments in a hospital management system. This resulted in telehealth usage increasing to over 78 times compared to the pre-COVID era, and a prediction that hospital management system cost spending would be over $250 billion in the near future. 

Between then and now, we have seen a massive rise in the number of hospital management software being used by the healthcare sectors across the globe. In this article, we will be looking into the multiple facets of hospital management system development, helping you elevate the end-to-end healthcare experience. 

What is hospital management system software?

Do you remember the last time you visited a hospital? It could have been either through a planned appointment or a walk-in, and the receptionist would have asked for some personal information like name, phone number, the doctor you want to meet, insurance details, etc. But where do they store this data? The answer is hospital management software. 

The hospital management system software collects all the information about patients, doctors, hospital administrative details, and more in one software. This is the one approach that makes the entire process truly paperless.

The essence when you create a hospital management system lies in understanding that a hospital is not just about patients and doctors. Thus, there should be different modules addressing individual roles and divided by access level data and features. 

Let us look into what those modules are: 

Patients 

When patients come for their appointment, doctors register their names in the system. Once they are registered, they get a message or email with login details of their hospital management system profile.

Following this, they will be able to look into their treatment plans, appointments, and billing details. The dashboard in the hospital management system mobile app also comes with the option to communicate with their doctors in real time through messages and calls. 

Doctors 

Next to patients, there is a separate module in any hospital information management system for doctors. Using which, the doctors can view:

• List of patients 
• Patient’s medical data 
• Appointment schedules    
• Real-time messaging functionality
• Contact hospital administrative team
• Contact vendors 

The aim here is to make doctor-patient coordination hassle-free. 

Hospital administration 

The hospital’s administration team uses the hospital management system to get holistic access to doctors’ and patients’ data like – 

• List of patients treated in hospital
• List of doctors working in the hospital
• Doctors and patients profile with the treatment history
• Finance and legal information

Admin 

Admin is the back support when you develop a hospital management system. They are able to – 

• Create roles 
• See all the medical documents and profiles
• Link patients with doctors
• Create appointment schedules for doctors and patients
• Maintain vendors list 

These modules play a very crucial role when it comes to hospital management system development. These help businesses decide which type of hospital management software they should build. 

Let us describe it better in the next section. 

The types of hospital management system software

On the basis of the functions that you would want your hospital management software to have, the types get decided. 

Clinical hospital management system

The hospital patient management system contains patient information, statistics, and reports. After adding patients’ data to the system, a comprehensive report gets generated. Moreover, using the same system, hospitals are able to view statistics of attendances, diseases, discharges, etc. 

Operational hospital management software

These hospital management system benefits lie in the classification of medical data. They enable the hospital staff with timely, consistent, and error-free data. Having well-categorized data in place helps hospitals deliver quality work both in-house and with patient interactions.

Task-based hospital management system software

The benefits of a hospital management system that works around tasks is to prioritize and allocate tasks among staff on the basis of the hospital’s needs. These systems are concentrated on dividing tasks into silos like hospital admission, discharge, operation room transfer, etc. 

Subject-based hospital information management system

The function of a hospital management system that works around subjects is to store patients’ data digitally. The hospitals use these systems for managing and storing patients’ medical histories. 

Financial hospital database management system

These hospital patient management systems are used to track the healthcare facility’s finances. They work around cash and waste receipts while being on top of the expenses and revenues, thus helping hospitals control their budget. 

Every data that we have looked into till now around the hospital management software in terms of types and modules drill down to the same objective – providing multi-stakeholders hospital management system benefits. 

Now that we have discussed the types of hospital management software, let’s discuss the essential features of hospital management software. 

The must-have hospital management software features

When you build a hospital management system, you work around multiple modules, each focusing on one stakeholder. In short, when you develop a hospital management system, you don’t invest in one but three applications. 

Let us look into the feature set that goes into all three modules. 

Patients’ side of the hospital software features

Registration

The must-have feature of an HMS makes the process of registering patients as they walk in or schedule appointments online effortless. Using this feature, the hospital staff is able to add in patient details quickly. 

Insurance integration 

This feature works around bringing patients’ insurance data into one place. This helps them with getting real-time information about which treatment is covered under their plan, in addition to easing up the claim process. 

Billing 

Every hospital management system mobile app typically comes with the facility of making bill payments. It enables the patients to make payments, keep track of billing history, share the data with their insurance firm, and keep a note of upcoming payments. 

Notification 

Focusing on patient engagement, the push notification feature helps patients keep on top of reminders like medications, lab test results, upcoming appointments, and the availability of doctors for teleconsultation. 

In-app support

This feature enables patients to contact the hospital admin in case they have any queries about their treatment or software usage right from within the healthcare app. 

Doctors’ side of hospital software features 

Patient management 

This is one of the most crucial features when you build a hospital management system. It enables doctors to view patients’ data in real-time, access their conditions, and ensure that they get timely treatment. 

Laboratory management 

On the back of this feature, doctors don’t have to walk to the lab to collect the lab results. They get them instantly once the reports are ready on the hospital management software. 

Virtual patient care 

The next key feature when you create a hospital management system is virtual patient care. The software should enable doctors to connect with their patients in real-time irrespective of what time of the day it is. 

Electronic health record 

The doctor side of hospital management software should have a secure electronic health record system. Typically, the EHR data includes:

• Billing and administrative data 
• Patient demographics 
• Doctors notes 
• Vital signs 
• Diagnosis and medications details 
• Lab test results 
• Medical histories. 

Hospital side of hospital management software development

Staff management

A key feature of hospital management system software lies in managing the staff and doctors. It helps ensure that the staff is checking in and out on time, their work is organized, and all the necessary processes are being followed. 

Finances management

This is another key aspect to consider when you build a hospital management system. The functionality enables hospitals to keep track of all the revenue and expenses, outstanding payments, issuance of salaries, and more. 

Inventory management  

The hospital staff is able to keep track of the inventories, right from medicines and equipment to furniture, using this functionality. 

Now that we have looked into the types and features of a hospital information management system, it is crucial to note that these features will only be able to deliver the expected benefits when it is powered by the right technology stack. 

Let us look into the second most critical aspect you should know when you develop a hospital management system. 

The technology stack powering efficient hospital management system software

Although the technology stack choice depends on the type of hospital management software development you choose, the technology stack that we generally choose in our role as a custom hospital software development company is – 

Now that we have looked into the technical side to note when you build a hospital management system, it is time to get down to the deciding factor that usually makes the entrepreneurs whether or not to go ahead with the project –  the hospital management system cost. 

How much does hospital management software cost?

The answer to how to create a hospital management system and what it would cost is dependent on a range of factors – 

• Features used to build hospital information management system
• Technology stack 
• Software integrations 
• Development team size 
• Development model – in-house vs outsourcing and location

While we have already looked into the features and technology stack, we won’t be touching upon software integrations in this article because the choice of adding a new-gen technology like blockchain in healthcare or AI in healthcare is largely dependent on the project requirements. Moreover, it would increase the price range of the final hospital management software cost over a wide spectrum depending on the size of the software’s application. 

Let us look into the other elements on the cost end. 

Details of specialists

• Backend developer: 3
• Frontend developer: 2
• UI/UX designer: 1
• QA engineer: 1
• Project manager: 1

Stage-wise cost to develop hospital management system

This stage-wise development cost range also varies greatly according to the complexity of the software. Let us look into what that would look like if you partner with an India-based hospital management software development company at an average rate of $50 per hour, as we conclude the article. 

Product discovery – 

Small projects: 20-30 hours — $1000-1500

Middle-sized projects: 40-60 hours — $2000-3000

Enterprise-grade projects: 70-120 hours — $3500-6000

UI/UX design – 

Small projects: 25-50 hours — $1250-2500

Middle-sized projects: 60-120 hours — $3000-6000

Enterprise-grade projects: 100-300 hours — $5000-15,000

Development – 

Small projects: 9-10 hours (technical documentation), 60-80 hours (frontend), 90-110 hours (backend)

Middle-sized projects: 10-20hours (technical documentation), 110-200 hours (frontend), 120-220 hours (backend)

Enterprise-grade projects: 30-50 hours (technical documentation), 300-600 hours (frontend), 400-700 hours (backend)

QA –

Small projects: 30 hours — $1500

Middle-sized projects: 30-70 hours — $1500-3500

Enterprise-grade projects: 70 hours — $3500

So here is the complexity-wise price range that you would have to invest in when you partner with a healthcare IT consulting firm from India.

Bottom line 

The modern healthcare sphere is on the verge of complete digitalization. The space is entering a space where all the stakeholders: patients, doctors, and clinics are connected seamlessly. A way to ensure you are a part of it is to create a hospital management system. 

While the article walked you through the multiple facets of the development process, building the software would require you to partner with a team that specializes in HMS-based healthcare software development services. 

At Appinventiv, we have worked with a range of hospitals towards streamlining and connecting their siloed processes by connecting all the stakeholders – patients, doctors, hospital staff, and administration team. The outcome of the efforts we have put behind the software that works towards patient engagement has been better medical outcomes, reduced healthcare costs, and higher productivity. 

Get in touch with us today to get your hospital management system engineered. 

FAQs on how to develop hospital management system software

Q. How do you build a hospital management system?

A. The process of building a hospital management system looks like this – 

• Ideation of the solution around the problem statement 
• Software design that connects all the stakeholders seamlessly
• Frontend and backend development 
• Quality assurance and testing of the software
• Deployment of the HMS across platforms

Q. What are the core features of hospital management software?

A. The features of hospital management software typically vary according to the stakeholders. Let us look into them briefly. 

Patients’ side of the hospital software features

• Insurance integration 
• Billing 
• Notification 
• In-app support

Doctors’ side of hospital software features 

• Patient management 
• Laboratory management 
• Virtual patient care 
• Electronic health record 

Hospital side of hospital management software development

• Staff management
• Finances management
• Inventory management  

THE AUTHOR

Dileep Gupta

DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER